Sharing my Journey

So, several people from my workout group and Weekend Warrior have inquired about my blog. I recently sent an email to Tammye's email group telling them the address to the blog. I have had several responses but one of them literally brought tears to my eyes. I'm not going to share who sent it but wanted to share it (hope she doesn't mind).

Hi Cheryl. Thank you for sharing your blog. You are an inspiration! I have lacked the motivation to work out in recent months & just don't feel like myself as a result. I've used every excuse in the book not to make it to the gym. I've actually been hiding from Tammye too! But after reading your blog today I am vowing to make it to Tammye's 11:30 Affliction class today. My packed gym bag is in my car...no telling what is in it, but it's there. :-)

You look amazing girl! Keep it up & know that you are inspiring women everywhere!

This was amazing to get an email like this. It totally got me motivated and just made me want to stay the course. It is great to get validation for what you are doing. I have had several good followers but I thought that sharing my blog with more people would just give me even that much more accountability. It makes you responsible when you have people watching you to set and example and following along to help get their motivation. The month of December has been so hard! I am plugging away and going to my workouts but I have not been on the treadmill. I have snacked too much, ate too many yummy goodies, etc.

I can actually say that I am really looking forward to Christmas being over this year and for me to get motivated again. I want to set some short term goals and I am so ready to see 175. I know it is right around the corner but it still feels so far away. I am also really looking forward to a size 14. I think that a 14 is the size of the average American women. While I aspire to be smaller...at least I wont be in the plus sizes anymore. Most clothes and clothing stores go up to 14 but if you are a 16+ you have a much harder time finding clothes. And.....why is it that they think people that are overweight don't know how to dress and want to look ugly. The clothing industry has done a terrible job accommodating larger sizes. Most plus size clothes lack style. They are getting better and the selection is getting more diverse but as a whole, it is bad. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe they think that if you have to look ugly everyday you will be more motivated to lose weight. This worked for me. I guess I actually have the clothing industry to thank.

Holiday Blitz Weekend Warrior

(My trainer Tammye and me...she looks nice in the picture...looks are deceiving)

Yesterday was Weekend Warrior. It was great. I swear it almost kills me every time but I am always thankful that I went when it is over. This weekend was the first time that I had my bodybugg (I burned over 650 calories). What a great workout! There were quite a few of us in the group yesterday. It is interesting to see all of the different ages, body types, etc. There was one girl in my group, Kelly, she was amazing. She did all of the exercises with great form and she never quit. She did all of them for the entire minute. She was my inspiration.

I took several pics yesterday. Here are a few.

I was teasing Tammye that I need to teach CPR toa few of the people in my class....that way when I need someone to save me, someone will know how. I am just proud of myself that I even go to this. It is intense 90 minutes of working out. There are several different stations with a specific exercise. There are approx. 4 people per station and usually around 12 stations. You do the exercise for 1 minute and then have a short recovery and move to the next station. There is also a warm up and post work out stretch. Some of these stations feel like the longest 60 seconds ever. Tammye walks around the room very cheery, singing and keeping us motivated. It is kind of mean. She knows she is torturing us and then she smiles about it. I guess it is what we are asking for. I may not do every exercise perfectly or be able to do each of them as many times as some of the gals but I am there and doing what I can. Last weekend warrior a girl passed out....this is not for sissies.

Any local friends want to join me? You'll be glad you came....

Blog Award

Well, I accidentally skipped the November blog award and now it is already almost the end of 2010 and I haven't given one out for December either. This month's blog award goes to my sister-in-law Kimberly. She has posted several encouraging words on my blog and was encouraging when we just visited Idaho. I get tons of ideas from her. She is so talented and such a great cook/baker. Everyone knows that she makes the best treats (not all healthy) but her coconut cream pie and home made rolls are seriously to die for. I follow her blog "pink cookies with sprinkles" religiously. It has loads of great recipes and ideas. She cooks most everything from scratch and this automatically lends itself to more healthy eating. Her family eats very little processed food. She makes her own granola bars and even her own healthy fruit leather. Just this week I made her chicken and wild rice soup..it was so yummy.

Kimmie seems to have it all figured out. She knows what is important to her. Her husband and her family. I once had a pastor tell me that you can tell what things are important to people. Just look at their day timer and their checkbook. Where people spend their time and money...that is what is important to them. I really respect Kimmie and her hubby for making their marriage and children the most important. It isn't huge houses or expensive cars but making time to spend quality time, making memories as a family. This is a great concept. Once I was talking to my grandfather about buying a new car and I asked him why he didn't buy something nicer like a Lexus or Mercedes, instead of a Chrysler. He responded with cars aren't important to him. He wants one that is nice, comfortable, gets good gas mileage, has a big trunk and meets their needs but he would much rather go on 10 more vacations with my grandma and spend their money making memories than to drive a BMW. I think they all have it right....I want to live like that. Don't get me wrong...I want nice things but it doesn't have to be the nicest. Houses and cars don't last, but memories do.

She also is physically fit and makes staying in shape an important task in her life. Her husband, Tracy, and family love to hike. They have hiked the Teton Crest trail several times and have endurance and stamina that I dream of. I hope to one day hike the trail with them. I believe it is 30 miles done in 3 days (approx 10 per day). I am definitely not ready for it now but maybe Summer 2012. Maybe I should set that as a goal. The regularly walk and set a good example of how to spend time getting your body moving. They go on several fun adventures through out the summer and on the weekends. I think they really try to squeeze as much out of life as they can. Travis and I have been trying harder to do that too.

Anyway...Thank you Kimmie for being an inspiration and for keeping me motivated. Keep the comments coming. Love ya!